(Madan Menon Thottasseri)
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Just four days ahead of the Climate summit, Union Minister for Environment Jairam Ramesh announced in the Parliament that India will voluntarily reduce emission intensity by 20-25 percent by 2020. The dynamic minister is to be complimented for enabling India to rise to the level of a responsible state with a concerted action plan on the issue of global warming. Of course, while presenting India’s stand in the Parliament, he remained unwavering that India will never agree for any legally binding emission cuts or peaking year for emissions. Further India’s voluntary actions will not be open to any kind of outside scrutiny. The Minster had unveiled a five-step action plan o achieve the reduction Plan. The measures primarily include mandatory fuel efficiency for vehicles by 2011 through legislation.
Commonwealth leaders in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting’s (CHOGM) special session on climate change in Trinidad and Tobago used their summit to bolster a diplomatic offensive seeking wide consensus on how to fight global warming before December 7-18 U.N. climate talks at Copenhagen, the Danish capital city. A Climate Change declaration s pledged the group's backing for Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen in his efforts to secure wide attendance and commitment from world leaders at the Copenhagen climate talks.
Only few days are left for the crucial Copenhagen climate talks, there was a divide between developed and developing nations while the British P.M Gorden Brown put forth a proposal to mobilize $100 billion by 2020 need for developing countries to adapt to climate change. India’s tone was set early on by the Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh.
He said that unfortunately the global discourse on climate change has become enmeshed with arguments about maintaining economic competitiveness or level-playing fields. India is of opinion that the Climate change should not be clamped on the pretext for pursuing protectionist policies under a green label. Then it will become contrary to the UN Framework Convention (UNFC) on Climate Change and a violation of the WTO as well. India will have to lead a group of developing countries who share India’s stand. ‘This finance is market-based and hence subject to unpredictability’. He dismissed the attempt to link climate change with arguments on maintaining economic parameters.
Developed countries in the Commonwealth led by Britain backed an initiative to establish a Copenhagen Launch Fund, starting in 2010 and building to $10 billion annually by 2012 arguing that such financing should be made available as early as next year, well before any new climate deal takes effect. The idea was backed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who also attended the Commonwealth summit as a guest. Jagdeo welcomed what he called the $10 billion offer of "interim financing."
While December first week’s U.N. talks are not expected to result in the immediate approval of a detailed climate treaty, the wording of the Commonwealth climate declaration made clear its leaders expected any deal reached in Copenhagen would be "operationally binding" and lead fast to a definitive treaty. U.N Chief Ban Ki-Moon has said an agreement to lay the foundation for such a legally binding accord is now "within reach."
The deal the United Nations is aiming for Copenhagen to offer cover for tougher emissions targets, climate financing for poorer nations and transfer of clean-energy technology. The climate treaty, expected to be adopted as a final text next year, will replace the Kyoto Protocol expiring in 2012.
Leaders of developing nations under the initiative of India, in the Commonwealth have suggested that 10 percent of the proposed $10 billion-a-year Copenhagen Launch Fund should be channeled to small island states prone to rising sea levels caused by global warming.
Nearly half of the Commonwealth's members are small island states and the group put at the forefront of the climate debate the cases of nations like the Maldives in the Indian Ocean and Tuvalu and Kiribati in the Pacific, whose existence would be threatened by swelling ocean levels.
Earlier, Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed welcomed the backing of the Commonwealth's developed countries -- Britain, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand -- for the proposed "fast- start funding" seen as essential for any climate deal. "I believe the Commonwealth understands our predicament more than the others ... they have put concrete things on the table"
There is blooming prospects for achieving a broad political framework pact in Copenhagen next month by public promises of greenhouse gas curbs by China and the United States, the world's the world's biggest emitters.
Indian P.M reiterated that there is no justification to club the developed nations with developing nations like India as historically industrialised nations were responsible for the present crises on climate change affairs. It will not be acceptable to India to stunt the economic development or the considerably reduce the competitiveness by imposing legally binding emission reduction guidelines at par with that of the developed nations.
India is cautious of measures construed to bracket developing countries like India and China as per the 2007 Bali Action Plan to implement the UNFC Convention on Climate Change. Man Mohan Singh said that the Bali Action Plan required enhanced implementation of climate change requirements like mitigation, adaptation, finance and technology. It is important that finance and technology should be made available to developing nations. Access to finance has to be concessional for developing countries and not to be dictated by market considerations.
When India came forward to put forth a tough position and immediately became vigilant against insatiable attempts in disguise to inhibit the pace of economic development of the nation, developing nations suspect India that it will downgrade participation in Copenhagen. French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has been specially invited to attend the CHOGM climate change session, made an appeal to Man Mohan Singh to attend the summit. Clarifying India’s perceptions, P.M Man Mohan Singh said: “India is willing to sign on to an ambitious global target for emission reductions or limiting temperature increase but this must be accompanied by an equitable burden sharing paradigm…Climate Change action based on the perpetuation of poverty will simply not be sustainable.” As of now Man Mohan Sing is not slated to attend the December 05- 07 summit.
India may be willing to sign on to an ambitious global target for emissions reduction, while it must be accompanied by “an equitable burden sharing paradigm.” P.M man Mohan Singh explained reiterated India’s view that the Copenhagen outcome must be “comprehensive, balanced and, above all, equitable.” At a very critical intervention during the special session on climate change at the CHOGM summit, Man Mohan Singh also pointed out that India cannot be in favour of the suggestion being pushed by developed countries that were aired at the recently held APEC conference at Singapore that if there was a failure to evolve a legally binding outcome, the Copenhagen conference could settle for a political outcome. Then the very purpose of a global consensus on the issue will be lost.
Noting that “we should avoid any lowering of sights,” the Prime Minister said India’s view will be that “we should not pre-empt the Copenhagen negotiating process. Whatever time is still available to us before the High Level segment meets from 16th December, 2009 should be used to achieve as much convergence as possible.” However, if the consensus is that only a political document is feasible, Dr. Singh said, “then we must make certain that the post-Copenhagen process continues to work on the Bali mandate and the UNFCC continues to be the international template for global climate action.”
US President Barack Obama and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao have already expressed their intention to attend the 15th conference of signatories to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change scheduled to kick
On 5th December,2009. As per the latest information, Obama will be there only for a day, on 9th December,2009 .
The Climate change threat will be real. There is drastic reduction if crop yields in through-out the world, ranging from 20 – 40 percent when more and more areas of land becomes less fertile and more prone to diseases .New varieties of crops are to be developed which can get adept to extremes of weather. Otherwise the world has to encounter serious issues to feed the population. Shortage of water resources will be one of the intensive problem the world is going to face due to climate change, as commented by Kanayo F. Nwanze, President of the U.N International Fund for Agricultural Development.
If not a legal agreement, at least some political agreement will be achieved at Copenhagen. Few of the frontline developing countries like India will be in a position to contribute more to mitigation and help less privileged nations in adaptation mechanisms.
Since U.S and China, the biggest emitters of the planet have already promised for a deal of greenhouse gas curbs, India will be put on pressure to quantify the actions that will be taken to reduce global warming, remarked R.K.Pachauri, Chief of the Panel on Climate Change (PCC). He had highlighted the importance of Prime Minister to attend the final days of the summit, Dec 05- 07 to at a time India’s presence and presentation will be widely acknowledged as a ‘deal maker’ and not a ‘deal breaker’.
Pachauri had predicted that US President Barack Obama's announcement that his country would cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 17 percent by 2020, compared to 2005, and China's announcement that it would reduce the GHG-intensity of its economy by 40-45 percent by 2020, compared to 2005, and would put more pressure on India to come up with similar quantitative commitments.
"The Copenhagen summit will help us to an opportunity to position India's long-term plan for combating global warming, R.K.Pachauri who is also the head of the IPCC -- the group of over 2,500 scientists worldwide that brings out the benchmark assessment reports on climate change.
Making a strong pitch for the country to shift towards renewable energy sources from fossil fuels, India must bargain at Copenhagen for large-scale resources to finance its “Solar Mission”. India being a tropical nation can consider the optimum utilization of scorching sun-light available for a period of 8 to 12 months through-out the nation at various levels, right from the peninsular tip of Kanyakumari to Northern boarder states of Rajastan and Punjab. The technology has to be made less costly prompting entrepreneurs to venture for Solar Projects at large industrial establishments, universities, Airports, Railway terminals, big hospitals, Pilgrim towns, tourist locations etc.
It is a fact that the situation warranted India to quantify a unilateral emission cuts despite that fact that our ‘per capita’ emission is very low, thanks to our size of population! India has to prove that we are really committed to lead all developing nations without adversely affecting or compromising on its’ economic and industrial growth. Just rhetoric skills or the attitude of escapism will not help India in the issue of India’s participation in the summit of Climate Change. India is poised to surge forward in all spheres of economic development should have to gets pace and participate with the latest improvement of all righteous causes for the international community without any bias or favour.
Arun Jaitly, one the most sagacious nationalist leader and the leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, respected and liked by one and all should have restrained himself in unnecessarily slamming UPA govt. and the Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh who is equally respected for his vision and intelligence unnecessarily.
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